Work on Britain’s new high-speed rail line should start in the North as well as the South to boost jobs, says Labour.

Only the first leg of the £32billion HS2 network to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds is due to get the go-ahead today.

Work on a Y-shaped line between the capital and the Midlands is expected to start in the South from 2016.

But Labour wants a binding legal commitment to include Manchester and Leeds.

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said the announcement from Ms Greening would be "an important milestone in the delivery of the HSR link first proposed by Labour in government".

But she said ministers must look at building from the North as well as the South to share out the 40,000 jobs.

Ms Eagle said: "As the latest comprehensive analysis of the alternatives has demonstrated, this is clearly the best way to address the worsening capacity issues on our main rail lines while cutting journey times between our cities.

"HS2 will now be taken forward on a cross-party basis to give it the certainty a major project of this kind needs."

She added: "The Tory-led Government's refusal to seek parliamentary approval to build the entire line between London, Manchester and Leeds raises real doubts about their commitment to enabling the north of England to benefit from less overcrowding and shorter journey times.

"Unless they agree to our proposal to legislate for the entire route in one piece of legislation, then any commitment to build the whole route will be seen as an empty promise.

"At the very least they should accept the (Commons) Transport Select Committee's proposal to include a clear commitment to the second phase on the face of the initial bill."

Ms Eagle said it was time "to move the debate on from the affordability of building the line to the affordability of using it once it opens. We need a high speed network that is affordable for the many not the few, not a 'rich man's toy' as it was described by the previous Transport Secretary (Philip Hammond).

"As passengers using (the Channel Tunnel fast link) HS1 know to their cost, there is a clear premium for using the high-speed service and we need a proper debate about the kind of high-speed network we want to see in this country."

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: "HS2 is a vote of confidence in the railways and recognition of the vital role the industry has to play in supporting jobs and driving sustainable economic growth.

"HS2 would help to alleviate the capacity crunch on many of our major rail corridors and offer the prospect of shorter journey times between London and other major English cities.

"It would also allow for faster and more frequent local services in areas between London and Birmingham, as space is freed up on existing lines.

"By deploying the best of British design and engineering in the construction of the high-speed line in Kent (HS1), we struck the right balance between national and local interest. We can do the same again with HS2."

The Government insists everyone will benefit because the entire rail network will get a speed boost.